Tamayo Painting Breaks Record at Christie's

NEW YORK—Christie's once again proved the vitality of the art market at last night's Latin American evening sale, where Rufino Tamayo's Trovador (The Troubadour) (1954) set a new world auction record for Latin American art, selling for $7.2 million. The record had previously been held by Frida Kahlo's Roots, which sold for $5.6 million in 2006. Tamayo's previous record was $2.5 million, set at Christie's in 1993 for his painting America (Mural).

The work was one of four that caused conflict at Randolph College last year; the Lynchburg, Virginia, school garnered sharp criticism from students, alumni, faculty, and the community when it announced it would sell four paintings from its collection in order to shore up its endowment. The protesters took Randolph to court but were unable to stop the sale. The college hoped to raise $32 million from the sale of the works. 

The Christie's auction also brought in the highest total ever for an auction in the Latin American art category, garnering $26.6 million. The results were 86 percent sold by value and 83 percent sold by lot. The Latin American sale continues this morning at 10 a.m.